Jamie Donaldson was pleased to snatch a half despite having held a four hole lead over Prayad Marksaeng as the Welshman finished as the joint leading point scorer in the EURASIA CUP presented by DRB-HICOM.
Donaldson, who partnered Graeme McDowell to victory in the fourballs and foursomes, looked set to secure an important point for Europe when he turned four up on his Thai opponent.
But Marksaeng fought back on the back nine, and when the 48 year old holed an eight foot birdie putt at the last Donaldson did well to convert from a similar distance to save a half as the inaugural contest eventually finished in a 10-10 draw.
“I played so well at the start,” said Donaldson, whose tally of two and a half points was matched only by Captain Miguel Angel Jiménez.
“I flushed it for nine holes and then I don't know if the heat got to me a little bit, but I hit some shocking shots and gave him a few holes.
“It was good to get a half in the end. It was important to hole that putt for the team and for my match, but I made it very difficult.
“It was very important to hole that putt on the last, and I knew I had to make it, and I made it.
“He had had a good run in. He made a good birdie on 16. I had a chance on 17, misread it, and so it was very important to hole that putt, following him in, I hit a perfect putt and it went right in the middle.
“It's just a case of getting your head down and just keep hitting good shots and make sure you try and get your point on the board. At the end, a half that was as good as I could have done.”
Donaldson also hopes that playing in an intense matchplay environment will boost his chances of a Ryder Cup debut at Gleneagles in September.
“The more matchplay I play, the better,” said the 38 year old. “It's been a great week.
“I've been unbeaten this week, which is great; I've played a lot of good golf.
“There are things to work on but I played the last couple holes very, very well. And when things were not going in my favour, the momentum was strongly with him.”
